NCC professor, a prolific writer, to speak Monday

Friday

Nov 9, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Javier Ávila, an award-winning poet, novelist, essayist and Northampton Community College associate professor of English, will present a reading and question-and-answer session from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Community Room of the Monroe Campus, 3 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, and 11 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the David A. Reed Community Room of College Center, Main Campus, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township.

Javier Ávila, an award-winning poet, novelist, essayist and Northampton Community College associate professor of English, will present a reading and question-and-answer session from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Community Room of the Monroe Campus, 3 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, and 11 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the David A. Reed Community Room of College Center, Main Campus, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township.

Ávila's writing career began in the early 1990s with the publication of several books, but it was not until the release of his novel "Different" in 2001 that he gained critical acclaim for his work. The novel, a psychological thriller that portrays the alienation of a 21st-century loner in Puerto Rico's metropolitan area, topped the bestselling lists the following year and became required reading at several universities in Puerto Rico.

In 2009, the film "Miente," based on "Different," was released. Ávila's follow-up novel, "The Professor in Ruins" (2006), confirmed his status in the psychological thriller genre.

While his novels have given him considerable recognition, Ávila's poetry made him one of the most acclaimed figures in Puerto Rican literature. Ávila's first poetry collection, "Vidrios ocultos en la alfombra" ("Broken Glass under the Carpet") received the 2003 Olga Nolla Poetry Award in Puerto Rico. Two years later, he became the only writer to receive a second Olga Nolla Poetry Award, this time for "La simetría del tiempo" ("The Symmetry of Time"). In 2006, "La simetría del tiempo" was awarded the Puerto Rico PEN Club Book of the Year Award. His third book of poetry, "Criatura del olvido" ("Creature of Oblivion"), was published in November 2007 and was awarded another PEN Club Award in 2008. In 2009, Ávila was honored with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña Poetry Award for his book "El papel del difunto" ("The Dead Man's Position"). The book was published in 2010.

In addition to his book publications, Ávila has been a satirical columnist and literary critic at Puerto Rico's leading newspaper, El Nuevo Día, since 2005. He has also been a textbook writer and editor for Ediciones Santillana and La Editorial UPR.

Ávila received the 2008 Outstanding Latino Cultural Arts, Literary Arts and Publications Award given by the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education.